Machine for gumming and folding envelops.



, Patented Ian. 28; I902.

T. B. KENDELL. MACHINE FOR GUMMING AND FOLDING ENVELOPS.

(Application filed. Sept. 18, 1901.) (No Mndl.) 4 Sheets- Sheet 4.

1 7)lIIII/IIII/II/II/IIIIII V/IIIIII/II 1 wif'nesse 41k MMM UNITED STTES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS BOULTON KEN DELL, OF LONDON,'ENGLAND.

MACHINE FOR GUMMING AND FOLDING ENVELOPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 692,016, dated January28, 1902. Application filed September 16,1901. Serial No. 75,586. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS BOULTON KEN- DELL, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain, residing at Norfolk Iron Works, Norfolk Place,Shoreditch, London, England, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Machines for Gumming and Folding Envelops, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to improvements in machinesfor gumming andfolding envelops.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machinehaving the improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical section onthe line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan of the machine. Fig. 4 is asectionon the line 4 4, Fig. 2. Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 are views ofdetails hereinafterdescribed. Fig. 9 is a view illustrating theconstruction of the Wheels 19 p. Fig. 10 is a sectional elevation of apart of the table 0, and Fig. 11 is a plan of the same. Fig. 12 is alongitudinal section of one of the cylinders of, showing its containedpiston and spring. Fig. 13 is a side elevation of a part of one of thesprocketchains 19, showing the mode of attaching the bar carrying agummer. Fig. 14 is a plan, and Fig. 15 a sectional end view, of thesame.

The machine comprises a framework a,upou which are mounted two endlesschains or the like I) h in parallel planes and running over chain-wheelsb b in bearings :b b secured to the frame a, and over wheels 19 bmounted in bearings 11 b, secured upon a support Z2 These chains or thelike are arranged to be moved intermittently, as hereinafter described,and are provided with a number-say 5of gummers c c, which are adapted toapply the gum to the envelop-blanks and which receive the gum from thedevice d, of any suitable known construction, as the chains rotate.

The envelop-blanks to be gummed and folded are placed in a pile e ofsuitable height upon a table f, arranged in front of the machine, andthis table f is then raised until the topmost blank is within, say,about a quarter of an inch of one of the gummers upon the under side ofthe endless chains. To enable the tablef to be raised initially and alsoautomatically and intermittently fed upward, so as to always bring thetopmost blank in mer, it has depending from its under side a pair ofracks f f, which gear with pinions f fi, keyed upon a shaftf rotatablymounted in the frame a and adapted to be operated from the main shaft g,arranged at the lower part of the machine and provided with fast andloose" pulleys g 9 whereby it can be driven from any suitable source ofpower. The shaft f is actuated from the shaft g by means of the worm h,which gears with the worm-wheel 7t,keyed u pon the lowerend of theupright shaft 72 mounted in hearings in the framework or and carryingupon its upper end a worm M, which gears with a worm-wheel 71 upon theshaft f This wheel h is loosely mounted upon the shaftf and has its bossmade in the form of a hollow clutch-cone 7L5, with which the cone 2 uponthe clutch t", keyed upon the shaft f is normally held in engagement bythe. spiral spring t coiled upon the said shaft. When the blanks haveall. been removed from the table f by the gummer, as hereinafterdescribed, the operator can disengage the clutch t" by means of thehandle 2 so that the table drops and can be refilled and again raised byhand, after which the clutch can be again put into operation, so thatthe table is again automatically fed upward as the blanks are removedfrom the top of the pile.

When a gummer c has moved into the position shown in Fig. 2 of thedrawingsthat is to say, immediately over the bottom flap of the topmostenvelop-blankit is pressed downward upon the blank, so as to apply thegum to the bottom two edges of the said bottom flap, (and, if required,also upon the portion of the edge of the central flap in the ordinarymanner.) To press the gummer upon the blank, the support or plate I),upon which the bearings 17 19 are mounted, is pressed down in such amanner that it pulls down the chains at this end and also comes to bearupon the upper face of the gummer and directly presses it against theenvelop-blank. The plate 11 is depressed by means of the two rodsjj,which are secured to the said support and extend downward, each beingpivoted at its lower end to one end'of a lever j, fulcrumed atj to alink j pivoted to the the same position with respect to the gumframe a,the other ends of each of the said levers being pivoted to the upper endof a rod j, the lower end of which is furnishedwit-h a cam-rollj whichbears upon the periphery camj, keyed upon the main shaft 9 of themachine. This cam is of such a profile and is keyed upon the shaft insuch a position that the cam is depressed at the precise momentrequired. When the blank is gummed, the pressure upon the chains isreleased by the further rotation of the actuatng-camj, so that thegummer c rises and carries with it the topmost blank, which adheres toit, whereby the chains, and consequently the gummer c and theenvelop-blank adhering to it, are carried forward until the blank comesto lie over the folding-box In, which is secured to the table Z of themachine. position, the plunger m descends and forces the blank into thefolding-box 76, so as to turn up the four flaps of the blank. Theplungerm is mounted upon a cross-piece m, which is held upon rods m msupported'in guides in the machine-frame and having at their lower endscam-rolls m which bear upon the peripheries of cams m keyed upon themain shaft g. The four flaps of the envelop being then turned up, thesides of the box 7c are forced inward in the proper sequence to folddown the flaps and gum the bottom flap to the side flaps in the usualway.

To operate the hinged sides of the box, I provide improved meanscomprising a number of pistons n n, the rods n of which are connected tothe hinged flaps and which are moved in cylinders 01. through the mediumof compressed air supplied by a suitable compressor n operated fromthe-main shaft g of the machine through the medium of the cam n As thehinged sides of the folding-box must not operate simultaneously, Iprovide three out of the four pneumatic pistons with springs, one beingshown at W, Fig. 2, the strength of the three springs being different,so that by this means the piston which is not fitted with a spring isfirst operated -by the air-pressure, the other three being operated inrotation according to the strength of the springs against which theyhave to work. In some cases it is not required to turn down the flapflat against the body of the envelopblank, and to enable the extent ofthe pressure upon the turned-down flaps to be varied I provide thehinged sides of the box with liners 7c (Figs. 5 and 6, which representan elevation and a section of one of the sides,) the said liners beingsecured to the box sides 7c by means of pins 70 and nuts 70 a centralscrew k being provided in the sides k k to adjust the distance betweenthe liners and the sides, which distance determines the pressure uponthe flaps when turned down. The envelops being thus folded and gummed,it is necessary to discharge them from the box, and to this end Iproceed as follows-that is to say, I provide underneath the box a diskWhen in this or table 0, adapted to be intermittently rotated andcontaining a number-say fiveof orifices or holes 0' 0 of about the sizeof the box 70, the rest of the disk being plain. With this arrangementthe disk is operated so that the plain portion of its surface is broughtunder the box to form the bottom thereof when the envelop-blank is beingfolded, as shown in Fig. 2. When the folding operation is completed, thedisk partially rotates, thus bringing an orifice 0 under the box andallowing the folded envelop to drop through into a receptacle 0 providedunderneath to receive it.

The disk or table 0 is mounted upon the upper end of a spindle 19, heldat its upper part'in a bearing 19 on the table Z and at its lower partin a bearing p in the frame a, the lower end of the spindle projectingthrough the bearingp and carrying a spiral wheel p which gears with aspiral wheel 19, keyed upon the main shaft g of the machine. The teethof this spiral wheel 19 only extend around a portion of its periphery,so that it only actuates the spiral wheel p with which it gears forabout half a revolution, so as to only intermittently give motion to thedisk or table 0. To hold the table 0 rigidly in position for the otherhalf-revolution of the wheel 19 one of the teeth of the latter iscarried completely around the periphery of the wheel, but parallel tothe lateral faces thereof, so that it engages the space between two ofthe teeth of the wheel 19 but does not rotate the latter wheel, the saidteeth being cut away, as at 19 19 Fig. 9, to allow of this.

Spiral wheels p and psimilar to the wheels 19 and 1), respectively, areemployed for intermittently rotating the chain-wheel Z) Z) through themedium of a shaft 13 bevelwheels p and shaft 10 The under side of thedisk 0 is preferably provided with concentric ribs q (1 between theorifices 0 0, the front ends of the said ribs being beveled, as clearlyshown at q q. These ribs have for their object to force the foldedenvelop r into the receptacle 0 as willbe seen by reference to Fig. 4:,where they are retained by the weight-clips s 8, under which they areforced. One of the clips 8 is shown drawn to a larger scale in Fig. 7.

it, Fig. 8, are projections on the table Z, which extend downward intogrooves 15 t in the disk 0 below the level of the top of the receptacle0 and serve as stops to prevent the envelops when being discharged fromthe box 70' from accidentally getting between the top of the receptacle0 and the disk 0.

u is a plate in the receptacle 0 which is caused to press upward throughthe medium of weights u, so as to keep the envelops pressed together,and thus prevent the ungummed flaps from opening.

It will be clear that the various operatingcams are arranged upon theshaft gin such a manner that they cause the Various operations of themachine to be carried out in their proper sequence.

Having now particularlydescribed and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim is 1. In a machine for gumming and folding envelops, thecombination with an endless band, supporting-rollers therefor, a seriesof gummers securedto said band, a blank-supporting table, located belowsaid band, and devices for raising and lowering one of saidsupporting-rollers to press the gummers upon the blanks and drivingmechanism for said band, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for gumming and folding envelops, the combination withan endless band, supporting-rollers therefor, a vertically-movable platecarrying the bearin gs for one of said rollers, a blank-supporting tablebelow said plate, aseries of gummers secured to said band and adapted totravel between said plate and the topmost blank, mechanism for applyingadhesive material to said gummers, mechanism for depressing said plateinto contact with the gummer beneath the same to forceit down upon thetopmost blank and mechanism for driving said band, substantially asdescribed.

3. In a machine for gumming and folding envelops, the combination withthe foldingbox having hinged sides, of a series of fluidpressurecylinders provided with pistons connected to said hinged sides, certainof said pistons being provided with retracting-springs of differentstrengths and means for supplying fluid under pressure to said pistonsto fold said hinged sides in sequence, substantially as described. t

at. In a machine for gumming and folding envelops, the combination withthe folding box provided with hinged sides, of fluid-pressure cylindersprovided with pistons connected to said hinged sides and means forsupplying fluid under pressure to said cylinders, substantially asdescribed.

5. In a machine for gumming and folding envelops, the combination withthe foldingbox provided with hinged sides, of fluid-pressure cylindersprovided with pistons connected to said hinged sides, retracting-springsfor said pistons andmeansforsupplying fluid under pressure to saidcylinders, substantially as described.

6. In a machine for gumming and folding envelops, the combination withthe foldingboX provided with hinged sides, of fluid-pressure cylindersprovided with pistons connected to said hinged sides, liners adjustablysecured to the inner faces of said sides, and means for supplying fluidunder pressure to said cylinders, substantially as described.

7. In a machine for gumming and folding envelops, the combination withthe foldingbox having an open bottom and hinged folding sides, of ahorizontal plate arranged below said box and provided with a solidportion adapted to form the bottom of said folding-box and an apertureadapted to register with said folding-box to permit the folded envelopto pass through said plate and means for moving said plat-e,substantially as described.

S. In a machinefor folding envelops, the combination with thefolding-box having an open bottom and hinged folding sides, of a rotaryhorizontal disk arranged below said folding-box, provided with solidportions at intervals adapted to form the bottom of the folding-box, andwith apertures between said solid portions to allow the folded envelopsto pass through said disk, and means for intermittently rotating saiddisk, substantially as described.

9. In a machine for folding envelops, the

. combination with the folding-box having an open bottom and hingedfolding sides, of a rotary horizontal disk arranged below saidfolding-box provided with solid portions at intervals adapted to formthe bottom of the folding-box, and with apertures between said solidportions to allow the folded envelops to pass through said disk,projections on the lower side of said disk beneath the solid portionsthereof having inclined portions to engage and depress the foldedenvelop, substantially as described.

10. In a machine for folding envelops, the combination with thefolding-box having an open bottom and hinged folding sides, of a rotaryhorizontal disk arranged below said folding-box provided with solidportions at intervals adapted to form the bottom of the folding-box, andwith apertures between said solid portions to allow the folded envelopsto pass through said disk, said folding-box being provided withdownwardly-extending projections engaging grooves in solid portions ofsaid disk to preventthe folded envelop from'passing between the disk andthe folding-box, substantially as described.

11. Ina machine for folding envelops, the combination with thefolding-box having an open bottom and hinged folding sides, of a rotaryhorizontal disk arranged below said folding-box provided with solidportions at intervals adaptedto form the bottom of the folding-box, andwith apertures between said solid portions to allow the folded envelopsto pass through said disk, a receptacle for the folded envelops belowsaid disk and in line with the folding-box, said receptacle having avertically-movable bottom and movable retaining-clip for holding foldedenvelops in said receptacle, substantially as described.

12. In a machine for folding envelops, the combination with thefolding-box having an open bottom and hinged folding sides, of a rotaryhorizontal disk arranged below said folding-box provided with solidportions at intervals adapted to form the bottom of the folding-box, andwith apertures between said Ice IIO

solid portions to allow the folded envelops to pass through said disk, areceptacle for the folded envelops below said disk and in line with saidfolding-box, said receptacle being provided with a downwardly-yieldingbottom, downwardly-extending projections below the solid portions ofsaid disk having inclined portions for forcing the folded envelops into

